Dons Make National TV Debut Against Sun Devils

Will the Dons rise to the occasion in front of a national audience? YANNICK PETERHANS/FOGHORN

Fresh off of a dominating performance against the Sonoma State University Seawolves, the Dons are preparing to host the Sun Devils of Arizona State University on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at War Memorial Gym. The game will be televised on the PAC 12 Network, marking the Dons’ national television debut for the season.

In anticipation for this game, the first of four nationally televised USF games this season, film trucks visited campus earlier this year to record B-roll footage and prepare for the broadcast. The coverage will feature play-by-play announcing by Kate Scott and color commentary from Dan Belluomini. Scott is an Emmy Award-winning reporter and announcer, as well as the morning sports anchor for KNBR 680 AM San Francisco. In 2016, Scott became the third woman ever to call an NFL game when she served as the play-by-play announcer for a San Francisco 49ers game. Belluomini was the head coach of the Dons men’s basketball team from 1978 to 1980 and also served as the athletic director at USF. In the years since, he has acquired over 30 years of experience covering college basketball for networks such as ESPN and Fox Sports.

The Opposition

Both teams enter undefeated in the young basketball season. It will be the Sun Devils’ first road game of the season. Arizona State finished last season with a record of 20-12 overall (8-10 in the PAC 12) and lost in the Midwest Region First Four game of the NCAA Tournament to the Syracuse University Orange. Coach Bobby Hurley graduated his three leading scorers from last season and welcomes five freshmen to the program this year. In their first three games this season, the Arizona State offense has run through freshman guard Luguentz Dort, a 6-foot-4-inch freshman from Montréal, Quebec. He put up 28 points in the Sun Devils’ 102-94 win in double overtime against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 6 and 25 points against McNeese State University three nights later.

The Good Guys

The Dons finished the 2017-18 season with a loss in the finals of the College Basketball Invitational in a three-game series to University of North Texas. It was a let-down finish to a 22-17 season (9-9 in the WCC). The Dons said farewell to five players who contributed an average of 28.2 points per game last season. Most notably, Chase Foster (10.4 ppg) graduated, and Souley Boum (10.9 ppg) transferred to the University of Texas at El Paso. Picking up the slack will be senior guard Frankie Ferrari, who will be looking to add a strong final act to his already-illustrious college basketball career. He will be joined in the Dons starting five by redshirt sophomore guard Charles Minlend, junior guard Jordan Ratinho, junior center Jimbo Lull and senior forward Nate Renfro. The starting lineup is averaging 52.3 points per game. Coming off the bench, expect significant contributions from senior Matthew McCarthy (13.0 ppg, 16.3 minutes per game), junior Remu Raitanen (6.0 ppg, 19.3 mpg) and sophomore Jamaree Bouyea (6.7 ppg, 24.3 mpg).